Im so excited im going to a new doctor can any one help me to ask the right ? I get 45 minutes with her thats includes a full physical ,but i get nervouse and forget to ask the right quastians by the way my neuro hasent called me back in a week again and i took myself up from 500 to 600 of gabapentin i could not handle the pain anymore it was really bad this time it came with burning ive never had that before i tried to go back down to 500 but the pain got worse i also had charlie horses on both sides of my neck . I dident know what to do will they get mad at me for doing it on my own arent doctors supposed to at least call you back this is the 3rd time he hasent called me back this new p/c doctor works with peaple that have diabetic neurapathy so i think she will know i also she the ear nose and throat spec on wens so maybe they will figure it all out im so so excited

Hi. I am so happy you sound happy and I hope this doctor is a good one. I always write down my ?'s before I go in and also bring in all my records. That is neurontin right? I am on 2100 and my pain doctor said the pain dose is usually 1800-3200 I have been going up slowly cause of side effects. I take it 3 times daily. Just be honest and since you are on such a low dose I don't think they will be upset. I would also explain how your neuro is not calling you back. On that note I would call every day and leave a message. Sometimes bugging them gets it done. Do you have as needed meds for pain? That may be something to discuss. My gp does not do meds so I see a pain doctor.When I had my physical though I asked for certain bloodwork to be repeated and made sure if I needed a written referal I could just call and get it. Also before my apt I write down all my meds I have and am on if they work/side effects. Supplements too. Hope you get some answers and relief. Hang in there.

I take gabapentin 4x aday 600 mg when they talk aboat flares does that mean the pain comes back even harder with new symptoms and then goes back down because i tried to go back down to 500 but the pain came back even worse ive left messages with the neuro everyday but they just said they marked it urgent and he will call it makes me so mad i wonder how he would feel to be in so much pain but all is good now i just feel bad aboat doing it myself i feel like im doing something wrong and i dont like that feeling but i will be honest with the new doctor and i hope she can anser alot of my ? I have all my blood test ready all my mri s all my nerve test results so im good to go

Oh I get it I am sorry I thought it was just one dose. Sometimes my flare ups are flukes and sometimes there is a connection. Even though my pain is still high I am able to do so much more and the level is much lower then pre meds so there is no way I would drop any. I am on some that I don't even know if they are doing anything but since the mix I see progress and am not crying every day from pain. I know it is not ideal but none of mine are narcotics and if it is gives a better quality of life then so be it. I know I hate doing things without asking too but this does not seem to drastic. It would be different if you were mixing meds etc. That makes me so mad and I have had doctors do like your is. Can you file a complaint with the hospital he is affiliated with? Hang in there and keep us updated.

Are you always supposed to have pain even with the meds it seems the meds just make it tolerable for awile then it comes back even stronger then its crying pain i try to read as much as i can but its hard because my arms anb back just ache when im on the computer maybe i should ask them for something for break thru pain you think hey i just got hold of his nurse and she said he was not in today but she would have the p/a get hold of me she says he ussually returns phone calls . Nice...

Sheila - I have you tried Lyrica yet? My pain mgmt with the gabapentin was way high. Since being on the Lyrica my pain is down alot. You might ask about it...

Leslie

thank you leslie i will ask my new doctor on monday she also works with the pain clinic there so maybe with all there help and maybe they can contact the neuro and figure out what is best ive been wondering aboat changing but im scared to change because i have so many reactions to certain meds and yhe gabepention seens okay but i have to keep going up is this normal and what happens when your at the highest dose and it stops working im so scared that i will have to go on opiats and i dont want to it scares me because i have very very very bad addiction genes i guess in both sides of my family and my hole life ive never had my children or myself around them now im scared that i will have the same problem .right now i feel like the gabepentin is controlling my life because i need it im waiting to take it before its time because of the pain and its not even a narcotic.i dont like the idea of something controlling my life .but i dont like the pain either

Sheila,
I was on gabapentin for almost 7 years
and slowly increased it to 4200mgs/day over that period of time.
When it seemed to start losing its effectiveness at that high dosage,
I changed to Lyrica - about 3 yrs ago.
I also increased it, to get to the right dosage,
within the first 3 mos.
That seems to be working for me, at this moment in time.

I wish you the best of luck with your new doc. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but my personal experience (12 years significant pn) has been that the pattern goes this way. Starting a new med, the med works for a while, you increase the dosage to the maximum allowable, and then you start over again with a new med. I've been through tegretol, elavil, gabapentin, lyrica, cymbalta, norco, and am now on Subutex which has been a god send. I hope you don't have to go down this road. Also, I highly recommend going to a pain specialist if you can afford it. They get that the pain dominates your life and must be treated properly to enable one to have some peace of mind. Best of luck to you!

I have been on gabapentin since Oct 08 and was up to 4800 mg a day (very high dosage and dangerous) the pharmacist called me to confirm the dosage.
Also documentation shows that after 2400mg you will not benefit the affects of the mediction.

I started going to a pain management center and prescribed loratab every six hours and this has worked wonderful for me. I have also reduced the gabapentin to 2400mg a day and have less of the side affects. I am also doing the Anodyne therapy twice a week as well.

I tried Lyrica or Cymbalta but at the time was working full time and both drupgs made me too drowsy, however I didnt give it time either. I may in the future try one of them.